


Be The Other Girl

by Anonymous



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1920s, F/F, Homestuck Shipping Olympics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-26
Updated: 2011-09-26
Packaged: 2017-10-24 01:44:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/257499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everybody has to do their part to stabilize time loops. Even swell guys and dolls who crash landed over half a century before the invention of the personal computer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Be The Other Girl

Your name is ARADIA MEGIDO. You have a number of INTERESTS such as ARCHAEOLOGY and TIME TRAVEL. You are currently locked in a small room (don't worry, it's from the inside!) and perched on a barrel marked with the strange symbols ǝzooq ʇou ʎןǝʇıuıɟǝp sı sıɥʇ.

You thought that was from troll e.e. cummings. It's quite poignant.

The room is lit by a single bare lightbulb, and a pretty girl is sitting across from you on an upended bucket.

AA: im sorry pan-timeline time travel can be really confusing  
AA: you dont really have to be able to explain it to just do it   
TT: No, you have answered my queries to my satisfaction, thank you.

She's so close. You could make out each individual eyelash if you leaned closer, so you do. She blinks and leans back slightly, her cheeks tinged pale pink, and you want suddenly to kiss her.

So you do.

 

> Hang on, how did this happen?

 

Let's start from the beginning.

There are competing theories as to how the universe began. Some say it was a BIG BANG. Some say it was a WHITE MAN WITH A BEARD. Some say it was FROGS.

 

> Not that far back!

 

Picky, aren't we?

Your name is JOHN EGBERT, and you are about to do something HIGHLY ILLEGAL. Your prankster's gambit quivers in anticipation as you approach the man leaning disinterestedly against the counter (he is wearing sunglasses indoors and you are pretty sure his trilby is on backwards - who even does that???). This is going to be so. swell.

GT: why hello there my good sir.  
GT: i am here to see a man about a dog.  
GT: (wink wink)  
GT: (hehehehehe)

TT: John.

You jump slightly. In your enthusiasm to spout awesome CODE PHRASES and CONVOLUTED PASSWORDS you didn't even notice your friend standing by the door to the back room.

TT: Mr. Strider already knows who you are, John.  
TT: You were both just over for dinner last week.   
GT: pffffffffff i know that! i was just having a little fun!   
TT: Well, if you are quite finished, the others are waiting for us inside.

You bound over excitedly as she opens the door.

GT: i still can't believe your mom runs a juice joint! that is just the cat's pajamas!   
TT: Yes, well, anyone wishing to part my mother from her liquor will have to pry it from her cold dead fingers.

 

> Be the girl.

 

You are now JADE HARLEY. You are dancing with your friend, or more correctly, you are dancing next to him, and he is standing still and looking hip to the jive. He is the BEE'S KNEES after all, and dancing just isn't his style!

GG: heeheeheehee!!!  
GG: i've never been zozzled before!!!!! :D   
TG: hate to break it to you harley but youre not drunk   
GG: i'm not???   
TG: fraid not doll youve been drinking apple cider this whole time   
GG: but if i haven't been drinking the giggle water  
GG: then why am i so giggly????? :o   
TG: its a mystery for the ages

 

> No, be the other girl.

 

Who, her? Well, if you insist.

You are now PENELOPE MEADOWS (and a grown woman, thank you very much) and while you are not entirely comfortable with your presence in a place of such LAWLESNESS and general ILL-REPUTE, you have a job to do, and by golly you are going to do whatever it takes to deliver your package!

You see, you are an INDEPENDENT WOMAN with a JOB and a SALARY. This courier job is very important to you, and you have strong feelings about the reliability of the mail service and its utmost importance in a structured society!

You are pretty sure the recipient of your package is the tall, angular woman playing the violin onstage with the orchestra. Fancy that, a full orchestra in an underground establishment? What a swanky joint!

 

> Be the other, other, other, other, OTHER girl.

 

That doomed Aradia isn't even from this timeline, and quite frankly I find your attitude is starting to become marginally off-putting!

You're just going to have to be the bee's knees instead.

 

>

 

You don't have any say in the matter. You are now the BEE'S KNEES, otherwise known as DAVE STRIDER, an all around swell fella. You are so HIP TO THE JIVE you've done an acrobatic fucking pirouette off the jive and come right back out the other side as un-hip. It works for you.

You are not at all startled by the sudden appearance of a grey-skinned girl with fairy wings and horns. Nope. Not in the slightest. She grins at you from doorway at the back of the room and beckons.

You're pretty sure you're the only one who's seen her. Jade and John are giggling and utterly failing at the Charleston and then there's -

TT: Strider.   
TG: yes doll   
TT: You haven't been listening to a word I've said, have you?   
TG: your accusations wound me  
TG: i treasure your every word you know this  
TG: i keep them close to my heart in a locket along with a blurry photograph of you sleeping and a lock of your hair  
TG: i stroke it every night before i go to sleep   
TT: Charming as ever, and a remarkable segue back to what I was saying before your attention so callously wandered from my presence.  
TT: Speaking of sleep, my dear Mr. Strider, I have been reading the most fascinating books by an Austrian neurologist.   
TG: sure sounds fascinating   
TT: Sarcasm aside, it is indeed, as I said, fascinating.  
TT: Tell me what you dreamed about last night, and I will tell you why it means you want to have sex with your mother.   
TG: sounds kinda far-fetched  
TG: dunno if youve somehow forgotten this but i never knew my mom  
TG: so i cant possibly want to sleep with her i mean what if shes ugly  
TG: gotta take these things into consideration   
TT: You impugn the good Strider name to cover up your Oedipal longings, I see. Your depravity clearly knows no bounds.   
TG: im not saying shes probably ugly  
TG: im just saying its possible  
TG: its something you need to think about before you rush into things  
TG: thats why im considered a natural leader i think these things through  
TG: anyway impugning the good strider name what are you shallow  
TG: looks arent everything im appalled at you   
TT: I consider myself thoroughly chastised.  
TT: Shall I self-flagellate to atone for my terrible misdeeds?   
TG: its the only reasonable response yes

That weird fairy girl is still there, and when she sees she's caught your eye she waves you over with both hands.

Dave Strider is not one to keep the ladies waiting.

TT: I can also tell you how your tendency to wet the bed until the age of ten means that you will be forever unfulfilled and ultimately die alone and you're ignoring me again aren't you?  
TT: Wait, where are you going?

 

> Be the other girl.

 

You are now ARADIA MEGIDO. Not doomed Aradia, or dead Aradia, or robot Aradia, although at one point in your life you have been most of those things. You're ALIVE-AND-WELL god tier Aradia and the novelty of being alive hasn't really worn off, even though you've been alive and well for quite some time now. People really underestimate how much of a downer being dead is until they experience it for themselves!

Being MADE OF TIME as you are your task for the past who-knows-how-long (well you know, obviously, but such tedious record-keeping can be dismissed for the sake of narrative) has been to bounce around timelines and make sure that all the important time loops have been stabilized before the completion of the scratch. You've recruited a lot of help from doomed Aradiabots and dead dreambubble Daves, but some things you've just got to do yourself!

TG: so uh   
AA: hi dave!   
TG: sure hi lets go with that   
AA: im aradia and you dont know me but i sure know you!  
AA: well not you you in particular  
AA: but you in general i think i know pretty well by now   
TG: if you say so   
AA: it was pretty surprising when my doomed bot-self came back from this timeline  
AA: for some reason the reckoning actually dropped you off nearly a century before you would be able to play the game at all!  
AA: dont you think thats pretty crazy?  
AA: i think thats pretty crazy if you ask me!   
TG: something here is pretty crazy thats for sure  
TG: do i even need to be here for this conversation or will you just keep talking if i turn around and walk away now   
AA: im sorry i dont have much time for explanations  
AA: theres only so many times you can go through the same long spiel before you really start to rethink your priorities  
AA: anyway it sounds completely unbelievable so i just dont bother anymore  
AA: the short version is hello im an alien   
TG: well i hate to break it to you but halloween isnt for another five months  
TG: but i appreciate your dedication to the bit   
AA: all right just humor me and follow me wont you?  
AA: itll only take a minute or two   
TG: sure why not   
AA: hi rose!  
AA: you come too!   
TG: oh hey rose check it out bird says shes an alien   
TT: That sounds perfectly logical.

 

> Be Rose!

 

Oh, is that who you wanted? All you had to do was ask!

You are now ROSE LALONDE, insatiable reader. You are an avid follower of beloved contemporary H.P. LOVECRAFT, and have recently developed an interest in the psychological theories of a certain SIGMUND FREUD. You are now following a strangely-dressed girl claiming to be an alien down a hallway that leads to a number of storage closets and, ultimately, the garage. Your day is looking up considerably.

AA: we werent really sure what to make of it at first!  
AA: the hardware necessary to run sburb wont be available for at least another 30 sweeps  
AA: it wasnt instantly apparent how your ectoslime paradox clones were even created at first since clearly john would never be able to do so  
AA: i had to instruct this timelines karkat to do it when i got here just to close the loop so this timeline wouldnt splinter  
AA: no need to have too many of you running around back here no matter how dashing you look in your period clothing!  
AA: i think is what kanaya or vriska might opine on the matter  
AA: anyway i figured it out and thats why im here  
AA: i know now why you are here and what it is i need to do to fully stabilize this timeline   
TG: well whatever you do dont tell us what it is  
TG: keep us in suspense for as long as possible  
TG: please im begging you   
AA: ok so i have given you no reason to believe i am what i say i am  
AA: would it help to convince you if i flew?   
TG: nope sorry   
TT: I might perhaps be amenable to such convincing.

She can, indeed, fly. It's not a long demonstration - the ceilings here are high but the walls through this section are narrow and she doesn't have much room to maneuver. The alien girl rises gracefully, lids fluttering half-shut in what appears to be pure, serene joy. The scales on her wings catch and reflect what little light there is, casting mottled patterns across the walls. At her zenith, she opens her eyes and grins straight at you, and your heart flutters to the beat of her wings. Before you can fully soak in the spectacle, she lands.

She's beautiful.

TG: so you can jump really high so what   
AA: hehe thats okay dave like i said i understand you pretty well by now   
TG: whats that supposed to mean   
TT: I believe the more apropos question is: what is it you need us to do?   
AA: oh it is so good to see you in person rose!  
AA: i never got to meet you face to face in the alpha timeline  
AA: maybe in my future who knows  
AA: hopefully!  
AA: anyway yes dave i need you to do something for me   
TG: well i guess i can fit you into my busy schedule  
TG: its really packed full of commitments and shit but ill see what i can do   
AA: its really not a big imposition  
AA: is there a song you have written?  
AA: one you really want to record?   
TG: well  
TG: yes  
TG: one or two  
TG: theyre good of course but i never really thought much about them  
TG: figured theyd live out the duration of their days in a notebook under my bed  
TG: maybe id pony up for a good nursing home for them when they get old and infirm   
AA: well dont do that  
AA: i want you to record them and get them to play on the radio  
AA: we  
AA: and by we i mean the versions of me and my friends from this timeline  
AA: werent even sure where to find you guys until we began picking up some radio broadcasts  
AA: sollux was able to trace them back and lock onto the correct dates for you  
AA: i asked a couple of daves to find the original recording in the alpha timeline but we couldnt locate it anywhere  
AA: i think it was yours dave!  
AA: i think we heard your song!   
TG: on the radio  
TG: well thats  
TG: all right  
TG: i guess   
AA: it is very all right!  
AA: anyway i just came here to tell you not to give up on them so easily  
AA: they are very important!

You clear your throat.

TT: Well, everything clean squared away then?   
AA: not entirely  
AA: rose   
TT: Yes?   
AA: there is something very important i need you to do too   
TT: In that case I would be more than happy to assist.

 

> Be the other girl.

 

All right but we're going to have to skip ahead a bit for the sake of decorum.

You are now ARADIA MEDIGO, and you are straightening your hair. You hesitate only a second, and then reach out and straighten Rose's for her too. It's remarkable how so little hair can get into such a tremendous state of disarray.

TT: Aradia.  
TT: Forgive me if the answer to this question is completely obvious to even the most casual of observers and yet has somehow managed to pass me by entirely.  
TT: But how, exactly, was necking in the closet supposed to help stabilize the timeline?  
TT: Not that it wasn't perfectly enjoyable.  
TT: It was.  
TT: Perfectly enjoyable.   
AA: oh hehe well  
AA: you get used to time shenanigans after a while  
AA: i saw this occur on the viewport before i came here  
AA: so obviously it had to be done to close the time loop  
AA: ive done so many silly things to close time loops let me tell you  
AA: not that i didnt enjoy it too!   
TT: I'm afraid you've quite ruined me for men.  
TT: And humans.   
AA: sorry!  
AA: well i think it will probably work out for alpha rose in the end!   
TT: What is she like?  
TT: Or maybe I should ask, what am I like?  
TT: Future-me, or...   
AA: well you have magic wands and you like breaking things  
AA: even things that are probably better left alone!  
AA: in fact especially those  
AA: you are very strong willed  
AA: and there is no way we could possibly win the game without you   
TT: I see.  
TT:   
AA: rose everyone has an important role to play  
AA: even if it doesnt seem big or important   
TT: I just find the idea of being condemned to a doomed timeline - not through anything I or my friends have done, but simply because of the circumstances of my birth - a bitter pill to swallow.   
AA: just because youre doomed doesnt mean you have to be unimportant or passive  
AA: in fact i dont think youre capable of being passive  
AA: go live rose  
AA: a lot of roses dont get to do that!  
AA: you may not see it this way but youve been given a gift   
TT: Your expansive perspective is indeed comforting.  
TT: Thank you.   
AA: i hope i get to meet you again in the future  
AA: the alpha timeline future i mean  
AA: i think we could be friends   
TT: I think I would like that.

She holds out her hand, and you thread your fingers between her slender pink digits. There is a red tinge to her cheeks that you can feel mirrored in your own.

TT: Go save the universe.   
AA: i will certainly try!  
AA: dont let dave chicken out okay?   
TT: I will cradle his fragile ego in my palms and stroke it gently but firmly if the need arises, which I suspect it will with alarming frequency.   
AA: oh by the way you and dave are  
AA: well  
AA: i suppose i will just leave it at that   
TT: Wait, Dave and I are what?   
AA: im sorry rose I really have so much to do i cant justify dawdling here any longer   
TT: No, wait, that sounded important. What is it?   
AA: i have to go meddle with dead dream daves now  
AA: watch out for your own  
AA: and rose remember your life is a gift okay not a curse

 

> Be the other girl.

 

You are now ROSE.

TT: As you insist, I shall endeavor to-

You are now ALONE.


End file.
